Only Human(Clear x Aoba)
by Cody Okumura
Summary: "You look just like humans..." "But you don't know the joys of being human." "Isn't that sad?" "I want to be human!" "Please believe in me." "Wanting to protect you is the first decision I made myself, and I want to see it through." "So please... Let me protect you!" "May I call you by your name?" "Aoba... san..." "Goodnight, Clear."
1. 01-Feeling

_**/This is an experimental story. If people like what I've written, I might continue it./**_

 _ **-Clear's P.O.V-**_

 _Nothing. That's all I felt. Nothing. My mind was blank, as white as the shine of distant stars. Then suddenly, color; a bright blue clouding my mind, turning everything from white to this comforting, oddly familiar shade._

 _Just as color came, so did sound. It was quiet; I could barely even hear it, but I knew it was there. It was a sound I'd never thought I'd ever hear. It was rhythmic and sounded hollow._

 _Wait. Is this..._

 _It is, isn't it?_

 _A heartbeat..._

 _But, how...? How...? And this color... it's..._

 _A break in the blue of my mind by a bright white burst broke apart my thoughts and I was once again feeling nothing, and my mind was white once more, but within only moments, the white faded again, and silver and gray started to swim together. They blended, but soon formed into their separate colors, alternating themselves like spaces on a chessboard._

 _I could still hear the heartbeat, but it was becoming steadily louder, as was a voice. "Goodnight," it repeated over and over. Each time I heard the word, the heartbeat, would grow louder._

 _I knew this voice. "Aoba... san..." I heard a second voice whisper._

 _The heartbeat had risen to a loud volume, enough so it echoed off the walls of my mind. The white burst that had broke apart my thoughts before came back now, brighter and more blinding than it was before. I tried to block it out by focusing on the silver and gray chessboard above me. It was clearer than it was, and I could make out small dots of different colors on each gray square. The silver was just metallic and reflective._

 _In the surface of the silver squares, I saw a blurry figure. It was spread out on a table with its white hair splayed out around its head. White bandages covered the right side of its face, its chest, most of its torso, and its left arm all the way to its fingers. The one eye I could see was half closed. It wore no pants, but instead had a white sheet over its legs._

 _So much white..._

 _When will there be color again...?_

 _I tilted my head to the sound of a lock. I saw an older man step into the room. He was wearing a blue shirt and blue pants, but the blue he was wearing was not the shade I found familiar. The man looked at me, and his eyes went wide._

 _"Y-You moved... How amazing... I know it's just your head, but you were able to move... " the man said, obviously excited. He calmed down a little._

 _"It's time to remove your wraps... permanently, I hope," he said, walking towards me. He walked around the table, and I turned my head to look back at the ceiling. The man grabbed my left hand, and starting at my middle finger, began to slowly remove the bandages around my hand and arm._

 _It took longer than I thought for just my left side. He then proceeded to my chest. He gently lifted up my body and began to slowly remove the bandages around there. I watched in the ceiling tiles. The skin of the thing I saw was even white, like the white that occupied my mind what felt like only minutes before._

 _The man then set my body back down and lifted my head instead. He took longer with those bandages than he did with the others. Soon, though, my body was no longer covered in bandages._

 _"Amazing," the man said. "You took even quicker than I thought you would to heal. It's amazing, truthfully, Clear."_

 _Clear..._

 _That must be my name. I didn't get it, but it sounded comforting to me. It reminded me of good things past, of..._

 _"Aoba-san..." I whispered. The word just came out; I couldn't stop it. The man just seemed to ignore it. He said some more things, but I only picked up some because I was starting to feel... tired, I guess._

 _"...released by the week's end..." was all I was able to get._

 _My eyes drooped closed right as I heard the door shut quietly._

* * *

With each passing day, I slowly got feeling back to my body. I was soon able to sit up and walk around my tiny room. There were no windows in the room, and no other contact or access to the outside except through the door the older man who unwrapped my bandages occasionally came through.

The time he came into the room after my bandages were gone, I was sitting up on the table. He looked at me, and his eyes widened farther than I thought possible.

"C-Clear, h-how...?!" he asked excitedly, and I thought I caught something else in his voice. Pride, maybe?

I just gave a subtle shrug. I still found it difficult to speak, despite me regaining my strength.

The man then walked over to me. He gently touched my shoulder, my arm, my chest, my stomach, and my right cheek. I retreated from him.

"Don't worry, Clear. I'm only seeing if your grafted skin won't deteriorate when touched," he said quietly. I nodded slightly, and sat completely still on the edge of the table, my legs dangling over the side.

The man grazed my skin with the tip of his fingers twice more before he nodded. "Now, we only need your strength to return fully and we should be able to bring you home, Clear."

At the mention of home, my body heated up, my mind started racing, and the heartbeat that I've been hearing recently got louder. I put a hand over my chest, right over where I thought the heartbeat was coming from.

The man didn't seem to notice. "I wish you quick healing, Clear, though I doubt you need me saying it. You've already healed remarkably fast." I gave another nod, and the man nodded back.

"I'll see you in a few days to see how you've progressed." The man turned and walked out of the room once again.

Right when the door closed, I got up off the table, and started to walk around the small room, rubbing my thumb against my middle and index fingers on my right hand. I had been given no pants yet, so I had tied the white sheet that was over my legs days before around my waist.

I grew more and more impatient as time passed. Thankfully, though, my strength was coming back, as was my voice.

I walked around the room, rubbing my fingers together once again, and humming a familiar song to myself when the door opened. The man looked incredibly surprised this time, more so than he was any time before. He walked over to me and I noticed he was quite a few inches shorter than me.

He reached up to touch the right side of my face again. Then he went to my torso, arm, and my shoulder.

"Amazing," he muttered. "As long as you've regained your strength, we can send you home today." Again, when the man mentioned home, my body heated up, my mind started racing, and the recent heartbeat grew louder.

"I think it's back. I can talk now, and walk around, so I think I'm okay to go home." **Aoba-san** , my mind whispered. **I'm coming home.**

The man sounded proud and excited when he spoke next. "Then we have some stuff to give you. Wait here, Clear. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I nodded at him as he left. I started walking around the room again, humming the song even louder than I had been before. **Aoba-san, I can't wait to sing for you again** , my mind kept whispering as I went on singing.

I hummed the song twice before I heard the door open again. The man walked in, holding a pile of clothes in his arms, a pair of white boots hanging from his fingers with an umbrella laying over the clothes. He walked over and set them on the table. He layed out the items one-by-one. A white button shirt, blue pants, a long white coat, a yellow scarf, and a pair of high, white boots with black laces. On top of the scarf, the man put a pair of white gloves, a white belt, a brown watch, and a pair of white socks. The umbrella laid on the table above all these items.

"These are yours. You came here with 'em," the man said, looking at me. I nodded, and stepped towards the table.

The man spoke again. "I'll be outside. Knock twice on the door when you're ready."

I nodded again, and he walked out of the room again. I reached towards the pants, and as I did, I untied the white sheet that was over my legs as I lay on the table from only days before. When I put the pants on, they were pretty long and baggy. I put the belt on next. The shirt came after, followed by the coat. After I had the coat on, I rolled the pants up to my knees to put the socks on. I then let the pants fall back down before reaching for the boots and slipping then over my pants, quickly lacing them up. I grabbed the watch and slipped it around my right wrist, reaching for the gloves as I did. I slipped them on, then grabbed the scarf, wrapping it around my neck, having one side dangle longer than the other as I picked up the umbrella, stepping over to the door and curling one of my gloved hands, knocking against the metal door with my knuckles.

I heard it start to squeak, so I stepped back a bit as the man opened the door and took a quick look at me. We both nodded, seeming to read each other's minds as he started to lead me down a long, hallway made of gray stone. I stuck out a hand, dragging my gloved fingertips against the smooth, cold surface.

Soon, we turned a corner and I saw a set of stairs with an arrow pointing up and a "1" right below it. On the other side of the staircase was a giant "2." The man guided me up he stairs, letting me go first. It was only a small set of stairs, maybe about only half a normal set. But at the end of this small staircase was a flat area, making a small rectangular shape that could just barely fit me and the man, so right when he stepped onto the rectangular space, I headed up the second set of stairs.

These one ended in a much larger area, with the walls the same color as the hallway just down the stairs. As I did on the floor below, I put out a hand and ran my fingers over the smooth gray surface, closing my eyes and letting the sound of the man's footsteps and my touch on the wall guide me.

Soon, my hand fell off the wall as we reached a corner. I opened my eyes and saw a large glass door in front of me, with two more hallways in front of it, so I stood in a T-shaped intersection.

The man turned to me. "Clear, this is goodbye. Once you walk out these doors, contact between us will be no more."

I nodded, acknowledging the man's words. I didn't care that I would not see the man after this, I was just anxious to get home. Even though I felt the way I did, I turned to the man and said, "Thank you. Thank you for all you've done to help me."

The man nodded, tearing up. "Of course. I'm glad I fixed you, because people would be sad if I didn't."

The man and me shared one more look before we embraced in a quick hug. We stayed for a moment before I stood up. I stepped towards the door and set one hand on the handle. I turned back to the man. "Goodbye, and thank you... again..." I whispered as I looked towards the door, pushing it open to the sunlight that awaited me.


	2. 02-Stumble

**-Aoba's P.O.V-**

I had grown used to the rain. It had become such a familiar feeling, I never cared to ignore it. In my world, it was always welcomed, rather than shunned. I would always end up completely soaked by the time I got home, and I put up with it because it numbed my pain. The sharp sting of the cold drops froze my heart, but only for a moment.

I used to be afraid of the rain, but ever since I saw him fall apart in front of me, all my fears and insecurities fell away and no longer existed, just like him. I found the rain to be the safest way to numb my pain.

I always found it soothing...

Like his voice...

The way it used to sing to me, the way it called me by my name...

 **Clear...**

 **Why?**

 **I know it wasn't your fault...**

 **I miss you...**

 **Come back...**

 **I need you...**

 ** _I love you..._**

He was all I ever thought of. I thought of his innocence, his enthusiasm, his insecurity, his inspiration...

I wanted him back. I don't care if I lost everything else, I just want him...

 _ **I wonder if they dream...**_

 _ **Aoba-san...**_

His last words to me were my name. The way be had said it caused shivers to roll down my spine and tears to spill from my eyes.

 _ **Aoba-san...**_

 _ **Goodnight...**_

These days it's been getting harder. Even my Allmate Ren has caught on to how I've been feeling and he's even tried to cheer me up by nuzzling into my hand and giving it a gentle lick like how he always used to. That normally always cheered me up a bit and brought a weak smile to my lips, but today it didn't work, even as I stood on my balcony and stared up at the darkened sky, knowing it was going to rain. I closed my eyes as I felt the first drop fall, gripping the railing as more began to plummet down. In a matter of minutes, my face, shoulders and hair were completely soaked.

It began to get chilly since I did not have my jacket, but I didn't care. I went back into my room, and Ren was at the end of my bed to greet me.

"Aoba... You should put on your coat or you'll get sick."

I look over to him as I grab my jacket, but not before running my fingers along the brain logo on each sleeve. For some reason, they always reminded me of him...

I shook my head and picked it off the hook, slipping it on and heading from my room without saying a word, or even giving another glance to Ren.

I made my way out of the house, sighing and looking up when I felt the rain, shaking my head to get the water from my hair. I started walking, my shoulders slouched and my hair hanging down my face in ragged pieces.

I had gotten to the place I worked at, the place I haven't been to in forever. I turned the corner into the alley and heard a song, a song that sounded familiar.

" _Yura yura yurameku nami no ma ni..._ "

I knew these lyrics; I knew them by heart and at first I thought I had started subconsciously singing, but when the voice got louder when the next line came...

" _Kira kira kagayaku, koe wa tada yure kanata e to..._ "

... I knew it wasn't me. It was...

I shook my head and dashed from the alley. I heard the song follow me, and that made me once again think it was me singing, though as I thought this, the rain suddenly stopped.

I looked up from my sopping shoes and saw it was still raining, yet not around me. My gaze traveled up, and I gasped as I saw an umbrella. Not just a regular one, but a clear one... This belonged to...

 _No..._

At this point, I heard the third line of the song.

" _Yume miru kurage wa, uta utau yo..._ "

The voice was unmistakable, and louder than ever, then it stopped suddenly after the fourth line.

" _Yasashii umibe de nemu ru..._ "

The next thing I heard broke heart.

"Aoba-san."

I slowly turned around, trying not to get too excited. I turned fully around and looked at my shoes, not wanting to see what I might if I looked up. I gasped a bit as I stared down. I saw another pair of shoes that weren't mine. They were white with black laces.

As I saw that, I slowly looked up, my eyes spotting a pair of blue pants going into the boots, a white shirt that was a bit short and showed the other person's bellybutton. The last thing I saw before the voice spoke again was a dangling yellow scarf.

"You'll catch a cold if you don't have an umbrella, Aoba-san," the voice said cheerfully, yet still worried somewhat.

I had stopped to stare at the scarf before I looked up, a pair of lilac eyes greeting me. The eyes closed in a wide smile, and I noticed the chin-length white hair that was ragged and sticking out in places due to the rain. I blinked, wiping rain from my eyes, thinking it was an illusion before I heard him speak again.

"Aoba-san?" he questioned, tilting his head and sounding concerned.

That one word was all I needed before I started to cry. I slung my arms hard around his neck, tackling him to the wet concrete, not caring that the umbrella was knocked from his hand. I hugged his shoulders, pushing my face into his damp white hair. I still believed it to be an illusion, so I sounded hesitant when I spoke.

"C-Clear... Are you..." I was unable to finish before I got choked off by my tears. I started to sob into his hair, my nose filling with the dank smell of it.

He put his arms around me, placing his head in the crook of my neck. He sniffed my hair, letting out a breath. "Yes, Aoba-san. I'm real, I'm actually here."

I gripped his shoulders tightly, my sobs no longer coming. I couldn't speak, and I couldn't make any sound as my tears hit his coat, the coat that had always been in my mind one-step behind those lilac eyes.

Him and I just sat there in an embrace before I felt two things, his embrace tighten and something wet and warm against my neck. The second thing was what surprised me most. It seemed to come from inside him. It was something I knew he wanted...

 _A heartbeat..._

And it was steady and strong, and not mechanical and grinding like it had been.

 **Did he... finally get what he wanted?**

 **To be human?**

 **To have a real heart?**

I heard another sound that had never come from him before. The choked sounds that said he was sobbing, and the steady flow of sniffles as he willed himself to stop crying.

The rain started to dwindle as his sobbing did, spraying drops down in various intervals before it finally stopped. I looked up, blinking the rain and tears from my eyes as I felt his head move against my neck as he looked to the sky too.

I saw the bright sun come out from behind a set of dark clouds, and I gave a small smile, this normal action in nature reminding me of my own life, of the darkness I experienced for nearly two years before he finally came back and brought his little light back with him.

I moved my head back to look at him, showing him my smile as I leaned forward and lightly planted my lips on the two little moles below his lip. "Let's... get home... Clear..." I squeezed my eyes closed to stop myself from crying again as I said his name out loud.

All I got back was a nod as we both stood together, not letting go of our tight embrace. He backed off and reached for his umbrella, picking it up and then reaching for my hand with one of his white gloved ones. I grabbed it without hesitation and interlaced my fingers with his, giving a slight squeeze to lock them together.

He looked down to me as he held up the umbrella over our heads. He gave me a small smile, and I gave a slight chuckle in reply.

"It's not raining anymore," I said, giving him a smile slightly larger than his own.

He shook his head, his smile still small. "I know, Aoba-san... It seemed like it would rain again."

I poked the moles under his lip as I giggled a bit. "You're silly. It's not gonna rain. The rain just ended."

He shook his head in understanding. "I know, but I want to be careful. There could be aftershowers..."

I gave another small smile and another laugh. I felt something again, I wasn't empty, I was finally awake again.

I was alive once more...

"Let us go home, Clear."

He gave a nod and started walking, looking up at the sky through his umbrella that he still held over our heads. I felt his grip tighten on our interlocked hands, and I looked down to them before looking at his tilted back head. When I did, I saw that his eyes were tightly closed and small tears hung on the corners.

I reached up with my free hand and tilted his head down. He opened his eyes, and the tears trembled, about to fall. I gave him a small smile and reached to wipe away the tears with my thumb.

He blinked those beautiful lilac eyes, and I smiled a bit bigger. "No need to cry, Clear..."

He gave me a smile back, and I closed my own eyes, leaning my head against his chest as I let a relieved expression roll over my face. We started to walk again, and I don't think either of us could see where we were going, but I just thought we both had an instinct.

We stayed close to each other, me holding him tightly as he held the umbrella above us. I had the feeling we both held smiles on our faces and with us so tightly against each other, we reached my house in what felt like a short amount of time.

I remembered that when I left earlier that day, Granny wasn't home, so I had a feeling she wouldn't be now. I had to let go of Clear to open the door, but I kept my hand with his as I pushed the handle, knowing I hadn't locked the door when I left, just like I usually did.

He followed me inside, where I closed the door behind us. Neither of us took off our shoes, and I ones that Granny would kill me for not doing so, but at the moment, I didn't care; I just wanted to get Clear to my room.

We got to the room, and I was glad to see Ren asleep on the pillow I usually had him on. Clear saw the open veranda door and he walked swiftly to it, letting go of my hand and instead gripping the railing of the veranda tightly, his head tilting back so he looked up at the bright sun. He closed his eyes, and the sunlight danced off the porcelain skin of his face, sparkling on the the bright tears that flowed from his closed eyes.

"Clear..." I whispered. I hoped he was okay, that nothing was wrong.

I thought this all before another thing came to my head.

 **He's crying...**

 **Why?**

 **I thought he couldn't...**

 **I thought machines wouldn't be able to cry...**

 **Wait...**

 **He had a human-sounding heartbeat earlier...**

 **Does this mean...?**

 **Clear...**

 **Are you finally human...?**

* * *

 _/So that's the end of chapter two! I hoped you people enjoy it! And for chapter three, I'll take ideas any of you may have on how you want it to go. And it doesn't just have to be chapter three... It can be what you want to happen in the rest of the story!_  
 _  
Now, for those who don't know Japanese, I'll put the translation for Clear's "Jellyfish Song" that I used in this story.  
= = =_  
 _ **Yura yura yurameku nami no ma ni** = Sway, Sway, Swaying beneath the waves_

 _ **Kira kira kagayaku, koe wa tada yure kanata e to** = Shine, Shine, Shining, their voices drift far into the distance_

 _ **Yume miru kurage wa, uta utau yo** = The jellyfish sing songs as they dream_

 _ **Yasashii umibe de nemu ru** = They sleep by the gentle shore_


End file.
